Using Gamification Techniques Can Accelerate KM Adoption

Earlier this year, we presented a “KM Conversation” with knowledge management evangelist and expert Stan Garfield. “Gamification Accelerates KM Adoption” focused on using gamification techniques to crack the challenging problem of building user engagement and ensuring that your KM platform is vibrant and widely leveraged within your organization.

Gamification can be very useful to knowledge managers as part of a strategy to encourage participation in knowledge initiatives. Stan Garfield began his webinar session with a definition of gamification:

“Applying the typical elements of game-playing, such as point scoring, competition with others and rules of play to other areas, in order to encourage engagement with a process or tool. In the case of KM, we are trying to encourage people to share knowledge or ask for help, or participate in knowledge exchange in other meaningful ways.”

Elements of gamification

Stan described a wide array of proven methods for increasing KM engagement and employee commitment, including:

Badging–distinctive emblems that can be added to a profile to denote special status

Goals–setting performance goals as part of normal performance planning; includes accountability

Incentives–encourage compliance with goals by offering things people can benefit from; either tangible or intangible

We will take a look at specifics from this “KM Conversation” in future blog posts, but in the meantime, you can hear more from Stan Garfield on this and related issues when you link to “Gamification Accelerates KM Adoption.” And if you have suggestions for additional topics or speakers in our series of “KM Conversations” with such luminaries as Euan Semple, Stephen Abram and Stan Garfield, please let us know by leaving us a comment below.